Possible Delay

got a mindfull of questions and a teacher in my soul...so it goes. ~"Guaranteed" E. Vedder

It appears that the weather is not going to cooperate with our summit attempt next week. This along with this rare spring avalanche warning does not bode well for the target date.

.AVALANCHE... INCREASINGLY WARM AND MOSTLY SUNNY DAYS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY SHOULD BE FOLLOWED BY RELATIVELY HIGH FREEZING LEVELS OVER THE WEEKEND WITH SOME HIGH CLOUDS ON SATURDAY AND A FEW SHOWERS ON SUNDAY. THIS WEATHER SHOULD PRODUCE AN INCREASINGLY WEAK AND WET SNOWPACK STRUCTURE AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS AND ON PREVIOUSLY MORE STABLE NORTH EXPOSURES... WITH INCREASING AVALANCHES LIKELY PRODUCING A SPRING SLIDE CYCLE DURING THE WARMING DAYS AHEAD. SOME RECENT WET LOOSE SLIDES ARE ALREADY ENTRAINING OR GOUGING INTO MUCH OF THIS SEASONS SNOWPACK ON SUN EXPOSED TERRAIN... AND THIS DESTABILIZING TREND SHOULD SPREAD TO HIGHER ELEVATIONS AND MORE SHADED SLOPES OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. SOME LARGE CORNICES DEVELOPED IN LATE APRIL AND EARLY MAY MAY ALSO FAIL DURING ANTICIPATED WARMING AND SUCH COLLAPSES MAY TRIGGER ISOLATED AND PERHAPS LARGE SLABS ON THE SLOPES BELOW. AS A RESULT OF THESE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS... A SPECIAL SPRING STATEMENT HAS BEEN ISSUED... AND BACK COUNTRY TRAVELERS SHOULD EXERCISE INCREASING CAUTION AND ADJUST PLANS AND ROUTES ACCORDINGLY.

We are still maintaining some hope and will make the final decision on Monday. Our second target date will be mid-June to go for the summit.

Preparation Update/Route Finalized

Always do what you are afraid to do.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

With a bit less than 2.5 weeks prior to the scheduled climb, Brian and I have been focused on finalizing our gear and route information. We have found a couple good resources of information on climb conditions this year from individuals that have made summit of Hood this year already. Other than some pretty strong wind conditions and falling ice, the summit trail appears better than it has in the past few years. If the weather can hold, we are on target for summitting on May 21st.

Gear List

• GPS
• LED Headlamp
• Whistle
• Extra non-cotton layers of clothes
• Food (few energy bars & 1 meal) & Water
• Matches
• Mylar blanket
• Small First Aid kit
• Helmet
• Crampons
• Ice Axe
• Climbing Harness
• Climbing Rope
• Climbing Boots
• Waterproof Outerwear
• Layered non-cotton clothes.
• Gaiters

ROUTE

We have also finalized our route and have GPS points. I found an elevation map as well as a plotted map of our ascent route. We are also working on getting a Spot Tracker so that family and friends can track our progress.

Old Chute Waypoints

1, HOOD01PARK, 10 T 601159 5020467, 5966 ft
2, HOOD02SILC, 10 T 601106 5022029, 6932 ft
3, Hood03Palm, 10 T 601424 5023583, 8540 ft
4, Hood04devk, 10 T 601873 5024807, 10219 ft
5, hood05gogsb, 10 T 601886 5024974, 10495 ft
6, hog2, 10 T 601934 5025034,
7, OC10663, 10 T 601951 5025070, 10663 ft
8, OC4, 10 T 601919 5025176,
8, Old chute 3, 10 T 601937 5025135,
9, OC6, 10 T 601922 5025235,
10, OC7, 10 T 601954 5025280,
11, Rdge1, 10 T 601987 5025289,
12, rdge2, 10 T 602015 5025274,
13, rdge3, 10 T 602064 5025277,
14, hood06sum, 10 T 602117 5025264, 11233 ft

Elevation Map of South Side Ascent




GPS Map of Ascent Route

Route Planning

"It is not the mountain we conquer, it is ourselves." ~ Sir Edmund Hilary

CLIMBING PLAN

Neither Brian, nor I, have any alpine climbing experience. Brian climbed Mount Borah a couple of summers ago during the middle of summer, but has not climbed in the steep snow that we will experience. Our plan is take the easy route on the South-side of the mountain also known as the Hogsback route.

The overall route is about 3 miles to the top, starting at Timberline Lodge (5,800ft.) The climbing route runs up alongside Palmer for about 2 miles (8,600ft.) At this point, it is a cutover to Crater Rock with an ascent to the bergshrund. From here, head up the snow chutes to the summit (11,249ft), taking the gully between the rock towers (Pearly Gates).

We are looking at a couple alternates if the icefall is too great for a hogsback approach.

UTM's for you GPS-heads.
UTM coordinates in NAD 27 CONUS datum for south side landmarks:
- Start of climbers path at Timberline 10 T 0601216 5020342.
- Silcox Hut 10 T 0601205 5020834.
- Midway Terminal on Palmer Lift 10 T 0601286 5022705.
- Top of Palmer Lift 10T 0601490 5023387.
- Triangle Moraine 10T 0601831 5024201.
- Devils Kitchen area at the start of the traverse leading to the Hogsback 10T 0601941 5024562.
- Hogsback 10T 0601970 5024771.

MISC

Brian and I are off to REI at lunch today to check out some climbing boots as well as equipment rental (crampons, ice axe, etc.)

Setting Forth

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." ~John Muir

As many of you know, I decided this last Fall that I would climb Mt. Hood this year. I have never done an alpine climb before and the only mountains I have 'sumitted' in my lifetime were done courtesy of a gondola dropping me off.

I have been asked quite a few times on why would I want to do this. The answer to this is several fold. First, if you have grown up in Portland, you live under this majestic mountain in your view everyday...okay, on the days it is not cloudy. As a child, I used to dream of climbing it. In my teens, "Wy'east" became my playground of skiing and sledding. I moved away from Oregon after college and haven't lived in Portland in some time now, but visit family often. I think any Oregon native feels the same way, that seeing Hood always gives you the feeling of coming home.

Secondly, this last Fall, Natalie and I experienced the loss of our baby girl, Abby, while we were in Portland. There are no words to describe this experience or how I felt during those days. The best way is to say that you physically just do the motions of life to get through your day, yet your mind is elsewhere. If one asked me to recall a specific event during those days immediately after, I could not. I have glimpses of things going around me, but the content of those glimpses are empty. There was a moment though where reality jumped back. I was driving alone, having just left the funeral home with Abby's cremated remains, when I turned the corner on to Powell Road. There was Hood, standing as she always has, staring at me. Immediately I knew that I was set to climb her.

My partner in this adventure is a co-worker of mine, Brian. Brian spends his time doing outdoor type activities including kayaking, rafting, hiking, rock-climbing, and camping. If I remember correctly, I sent him a picture of Hood in an email with a comment of 'Wanna climb this?' I believe he replied back within a few seconds with 'Yeah, I'm down. When?" Good guy.

Our projected ascent date is 30 days from today, May 21st. Quite a bit of preparation to do over the next few weeks.

-Jacobson